Tech

3D-Printed Record Plays Like the Real Thing

AUSTIN — The nostalgic return to vinyl LP records is endearing, in a way, but no one expects the digital music recording industry to start producing the large discs in mass quantities again. The rise of 3D printing, however, offers the intriguing possibility of printing your own 33RPMs at home.

Researcher and Instructables DIY project site team member Amanda Ghassaei has created what may be the world’s first 3D-printed, playable LP records. Ghassaei wrote the code that transforms any audio file into a 3D file that can be created via the high-resolution Objet Connex 500 3D printer.

Instructable team member Karen Howard gave us a brief demo at SXSW 2013’s Creator Tent, which was filled with 3D printed projects and other incredibly cool DIY electronics projects and innovations.

Traditional LP’s are pressed in vinyl and are, in fact, a much higher resolution than the final Objet output, which prints the resin-based albums, layer-by-layer in a diagonal fashion. In fact, faint lines that traverse the diameter of the white records are clearly visible.

There are other limitations: the final product is stiffer than vinyl LPs (rather like the really old-school 78 RPMs); the playable portion is only printed on one side; and the bit rate is, at a lowly 1 kHz, one-fourth they typical bit rate found on a standard MP3 file. That said, in our brief hands — and ears — on, the records did play on a standard record player, and the audio is clearly recognizable music.

In time, the resolution and bit rate may improve, which could lead to a boom in home-printed, classic LPs. Our suggestion? Don’t throw out that old turntable just yet.

Get a closer look at the technology in the video above and then let us know in the comments below if you're ready to start spinning tunes again.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.